Nigel Hess: The Catskills: Brass Band: Score

In upstate New York lie the Catskill Mountains - an extraordinary combination of tranquillity and power peace and majesty. Once seen they call you back again and again. This brass band transcription has been made by Phillip Littlemore and explores the sonorous and warm sounds of the brass band. The Catskills is the second movement of East Coast Pictures originally written for wind band and was commissioned in 1985 by the British Youth Wind Orchestra with funds from National Westminster Bank plc. These three short ‘pictures’ were inspired by several visits by the composer to a small part of the USA’s East Coast an area that provides great extremesin the geography and the people.

East Coast Pictures originally written for wind band have now been transcribed by Phillip Littlemore introducing these exciting programmatic pieces to a wider audience. These three short ‘pictures’ were inspired by several visits by the composer to a small part of the USA’s East Coast an area that provides great extremes in the geography and the people. Shelter Island is a small island situated almost at the end of Long Island a few hours’ drive east of New York. In the summer it becomes a crowded tourist trap but in the winter it is gloriously deserted and bravely faces the onslaught of the turbulent Atlantic shrouded in sea mists anddriving rain. In upstate New York lie the Catskill Mountains an extraordinary combination of tranquillity and power peace and majesty. Once seen they call you back again and again. New York ...or to be precise Manhattan. For anyone who is familiar with this bizarre and wonderful city this ‘picture’ needs no explanation. For those not yet hooked here is a foretaste of things to come.